The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that prices were 3.2 percent in December compared with a year earlier. That's according to new data from CoreLogic.

Still, the housing price recovery in metropolitan St. Louis is lagging behind the nation.

Prices across the country rose 8.3 percent for 2012, while St. Louis home prices -- excluding distressed properties -- rose 3.1 percent for the year. The rate of foreclosures is lower in St. Louis than in the nation overall.